The present disclosure relates to a packaging box configured to protecting a packaged article during transportation or storage.
As a packaging box configured to package a packaged article, such as an image forming apparatus including a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or a multifunction peripheral, a separate type packaging box is sometimes used. The separate type packaging box has a bottom case on which the packaged article is to be placed and a covering case to be covered on the bottom case, and is configured bypassing a joint through coupling holes formed in the respective case to couple these two cases to each other. In the separate type packaging box, the covering case is inserted into the bottom case so that the coupling holes formed in the respective cases are easily aligned with each other.
When a buffering member is interposed between such a separate type packaging box and the packaged article, the buffering member needs to be disposed inside from a side plate of the bottom case by a gap of a thickness of the side plate of the covering case. In order to position the buffering member inside of the bottom case in this manner, the buffering member is formed with a protruding piece extended in a horizontal direction. By abutting the protruding piece against the side plate of the bottom case, the buffering member can be thereby disposed inside with a gap of a length of the protruding piece from the side plate of the bottom case.
However, if such a protruding piece is formed on the buffering member, when the covering case is inserted into the bottom case, the side plate of the covering case rides on the protruding piece and the positions of the coupling holes of the respective cases are shifted to each other. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6A, in the separate type packaging box in which a side plate 123 of a covering case 120 is inserted inside a side plate 113 of a bottom case 110, the side plate 123 of the covering case 120 may be formed with a notch 125 into which a protruding piece 141 of a buffering member 140 is fitted so that a coupling hole 114 of the bottom case 110 and a coupling hole 124 of the covering case 120 overlap each other.
However, in the packaging box in which the notch 125 is formed in the covering case 120, the processing for forming the notch 125 in the covering case 120 is required or a compression strength of the covering case 120 lowers at a portion where the notch 125 is formed. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6B, the side plate 123 of the covering case 120 may be placed on the protruding piece 141 and then press it downward, and then the bottom case 110 and the covering case 120 may be coupled to each other with the protruding piece 141 compressed. In this instance, since the side plate 123 of the covering case 120 is applied with a load intensively at a portion where presses the protruding piece 141, a compression strength of the covering case 120 weakens at the portion. Also, if the covering case 120 while riding on the compressed protruding piece 141 is coupled to the bottom case 110, since the covering case 120 is lifted from the bottom case 110 by a thickness of the compressed protruding piece 141, a posture of the covering case 120 becomes unstable or the positions of the coupling hole 114 of the bottom case 110 and the coupling hole 124 of the covering case 120 are shifted to each other, which make it difficult to couple the cases.